The invention relates to a control arrangement for an elevator, an elevator including such a control arrangement and to a respective control method.
Conventional elevators have a console for entering control information. Customarily, keyboard control panels are concerned and a key is assigned to each floor. The user then presses the key corresponding to the floor he wishes the elevator to move to. The elevator then moves to the respective floor.
The control arrangements for these known elevators are relatively simple to operate, it is true. But there are situations in which the operation is not easy for the users. For example, blind users first have to find the right key with the help of the lettering. More particularly, however, the user is always to know beforehand on what floor his desired destination is; for example, a person he or she is going to talk to, or also an office space.
It is an object of the invention to improve known control arrangements, elevators and control methods, so that the elevator is easier and more flexible to use for a user.
This object is achieved by a control arrangement for operating an elevator in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.
According to the invention a console comprises means for audio recording. A console is understood to mean in this context any terminal device in the elevator. Customarily, such terminal devices include acoustic and/or graphic indication elements and input possibilities (buttons, key switches, and so on). According to the invention, however, such a console may also have a very simple structure, in the simplest case it may include only audio recording means.
xe2x80x9cControl informationxe2x80x9d is fed to such a console, that is, the user""s entries which are to be used for controlling the elevator. Whereas this customarily takes place by pressing the button of the floor, according to the invention a user can control the elevator by speech commands.
For this purpose, an audio recording means is present, for example, a microphone, preferably with an arrangement for digitizing and signal coding. The concept of xe2x80x9crecordingxe2x80x9d also refers to means by which audio signals can be accepted and processed. This comprises, on the one hand, recording in the way that first a block is recorded and stored, which is processed later on. On the other hand, also on-line signal processing of the converted audio signals is included, which can be effected without storage.
The recording means are connected to a speech analysis unit. The user can thus enter control information in the form of a speech command or a spoken question, respectively. The recorded (and, as the case may be, digitized or coded) audio signal is analyzed by the speech analysis unit i.e. the speech analysis unit tries to recognize the spoken words. Such speech recognition units are known per se. Needless to observe that a speaker-independent recognition system is preferred here.
The speech analysis unit produces a result in the form of a representation of the recognized speech commands or recognized word sequences, respectively. This information is processed in a control unit, so that the elevator is driven in accordance with the entered control information. A simple example: the speech analysis unit produces the words xe2x80x9csecond floorxe2x80x9d as an analysis result of the audio recording. The control unit recognizes therefrom that the user has given the command to move the elevator to the second floor. The control unit accordingly controls the elevator, so that the elevator moves to the second floor.
The distinction between a speech analysis unit and a control unit is purely functional. The conversion may take place in two separate devices, but also in two modules of one device or even by a single program which runs on a computer and performs the two functions together.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, a control center is provided outside the elevator. Such a control center, which is connected to the console via transmission means, for example, a cable-bound bus system or wireless transmission means, for example, infrared or radio transmission means, will customarily be arranged as an electronic control circuit or computer, respectively.
It is possible for the speech analysis unit to be arranged on a console inside the elevator, with the speech analysis unit being directly connected to the recording means and the speech recording being analyzed immediately. It is also possible for the speech analysis unit to be arranged on a fixed position outside the elevator. In that case the audio recording is transmitted from the console to the speech analysis unit, preferably in digitized, coded form, while the transmission means already described could be used.
The latter variant is preferred here. On the one hand, for speech recognition there are pure software solutions which are suitable for being used on a central computer. On the other hand, xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d speech recognition systems which cannot only recognize a limited vocabulary, but can analyze and recognize any conceivable speech entry are extremely expensive. A speech analysis unit is preferred that accesses a database which contains a limited number of possible speech commands.
Such a database is preferably made for the whole building. For example, the database can, on the one hand, be simply looked after centrally (for example, the name of a new employee may be entered). On the other hand, the control systems can access a database centrally for a plurality of elevators.
According to a further embodiment of the invention also the control unit accesses such a database, preferably the same database as the speech analysis unit. In this database is stored for each description of a location (control information, recognized speech command) the control command leading to this location. A simple example: In the database is stored for the speech command xe2x80x9csecond floorxe2x80x9d, on the one hand, the acoustic representation which the speech analysis unit accesses for recognition. Moreover, for the speech command xe2x80x9csecond floorxe2x80x9d is also stored a respective control sequence that is to be sent to the elevator, so that this elevator moves to the second floor. After the recognition of the concept xe2x80x9csecond floorxe2x80x9d on the basis of the audio representation, the control unit reads the stored control commands and sends them to the elevator.
According to an essential further embodiment of the invention, the speech commands recognized and processed as control information comprise not only indications of locations (for example, xe2x80x9csecond floorxe2x80x9d), but also indirect descriptions of locations are understood. xe2x80x9cIndirectxe2x80x9d descriptions of locations are meant to be understood here such descriptions that are assigned to a location description via a combination. For example, a speech command xe2x80x9cto Mr. Meierxe2x80x9d is recognized. By evaluating a previously stored combination, it is established that Mr. Meier has a room on the third floor. Thus xe2x80x9cto Mr. Meierxe2x80x9d is an indirect location description for the third floor, so that the respective control commands are triggered.
The combination of such indirect location descriptions with a destination (floor) for the elevator is possible for very diverse information. This includes names of persons, department references and room numbers. Also function descriptions (xe2x80x9cmen""s roomxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cconference roomxe2x80x9d) can be combined to a floor number in this manner.
It is even possible to use momentary function descriptions. This includes, for example, rooms in which a certain event currently takes place (for example, xe2x80x9cto the meeting of outdoor staffxe2x80x9d).
Preferably, these combinations are stored in a database where they are not stored for fixed, but may be changed. This includes, on the one hand, changes for the long term (for example, Mr. Meier moves house from the third to the fifth floor). On the other hand, also changes for the short term, for example, day by day changes, can be entered into the database.
Constant updates are advantageous particularly with indirect location descriptions. If the database dynamically updates this information, for example, also situations may be taken into account in which the assignment of indirect location descriptions change during the day. For example, the database may be updated, for example, if Mr. Meier (who otherwise works in the second floor) is at a meeting in the conference room (third floor). The indirect location description xe2x80x9cMeierxe2x80x9d then shows the third floor instead of the second floor. These constant updates are particularly interesting in buildings in which the persons working there are dynamically assigned an office space every day.
Particularly in those cases, but also in other cases where inquiries or additional information is helpful or necessary, the capability of the system of holding a dialogue is advantageous. For example, in the case of entries that are not understood a further inquiry may be made (xe2x80x9cPlease repeat the entryxe2x80x9d), or further details may be asked for in case of unclear commands (xe2x80x9cDo you mean Hans Mxc3xcller of bookkeeping or Hans Mxc3xcller of the board?xe2x80x9d). But especially information can be given after a location indication has been understood (xe2x80x9cMr. Mxc3xcller is in room 12, at the end of the corridor on the rightxe2x80x9d) or decisions of the user may be asked for (xe2x80x9cMr. Mxc3xcller is in the conference room. Would you like to take part in the conference or wait in his office?xe2x80x9d).
A control system according to the invention and reacting to natural speech entries may obviously be used with key control in parallel with the present systems. The key control is then preferred to have priority, so that speech entries (especially erroneously understood speech entries) can be overwritten.
These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.